Firewalls have traditionally provided perimeter security by maintaining stateful control of all connections between connected network segments. Today, more and more customers are looking to the firewall for VPN services in addition to access control. With a VPN, remote users or distributed branches can securely access corporate networks at a low cost. Using the Internet for access dramatically reduces the telecommunications costs associated with previous leased-line or other dedicated networks. Companies also no longer need to maintain large modem banks and access servers - a large capital outlay and administrative headache - to handle remote dial-in users. With just a local phone call to an Internet Service Provider (ISP), users can securely access private corporate intranets over the Internet.The PIX 525 enables secure private communications over the Internet or any IP network. It integrates key features of VPNs - tunneling, data encryption, security, and firewalling - to provide a secure, scalable platform to better and more cost-effectively accommodate remote-access, remote-office, and extranet connectivity using public data services. The PIX 525 provides users with a complete implementation of IPsec standards. IPsec ensures confidentiality, integrity, and authenticity. For secure data encryption, Cisco's implementation of IPsec supports both the 56-bit Data Encryption Standard (DES) and 168-bit Triple DES algorithms. The PIX Firewall offers unsurpassed reliability, with a mean time between failures (MTB) of more than 60, 000 hours. Even with this level of dependability, organizations whose Internet, intranet, or extranet connections are their corporate lifeline know that firewall redundancy is critical. Every minute a firewall is down means lost revenue, opportunity, or critical information. Cisco has created a failover bundle package for use with the PIX 525-UR, enabling this need to be met simply and inexpensively. This package provides organizations with a second firewall designed to run exclusively in failover mode, for a fraction of the cost of a standard PIX 525-UR bundle. The Cisco Secure PIX Firewall 525 supports a broad range of network interface cards (NICs). Standard NICs include single-port or four-port 10/100 Fast Ethernet, Gigabit Ethernet, 4/16 Token Ring, and dual-attached multimode FDDI cards. The PIX 525 also offers multiple power supply options. Users can chose between AC or a 48 DC power supply. Either option can be paired with a second power supply for the ultimate in redundancy and high-availability.